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Friday, January 29, 1993
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
Marriage,policy making should remain separate
President Clinton recently appointed his wife to lead his health-care reform task force. Clinton made the announcement after being told earlier in the week by his previous health-care advisors that his health care plan would not work.
Clinton's approach combined managed competition and strict price control. It was determined unworkable because it combined a free-market environment with a government-imposed national health care budget. But Clinton still believes his plan is feasible and has asked Hillary to develop legislation for Congress.
The role that the president has bestowed upon his wife will be different from that of any first lady in history. It is different from the role he said she would have during the campaign. This decision will certainly cause questions from the electorate as to the appropriateness of such a move.
There is no doubting the intelligence of Hillary Clinton. But should someone be given such authority merely because of marriage?
It would be foolish to expect professional, successful wives not to be influential in an administration. Not only would it be ridiculous in this case, but also in future presidencies. Potential candidates for president of both major parties have partners who are and will continue to be guides for their spouses.
President Clinton owes the American people honesty. It is certainly his right to appoint his wife. Yet the president should make very clear her involvement in policy making and governing. Bill Clinton was elected president, not his wife.
BRENT KASSING FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Identity is not always found in place of birth
Francesca Glyn-Jones, you're new to America, so for now we can forgive you for your lack of understanding of why people born in America claim to be from somewhere else. For your benefit I will provide a brief explanation. America is supposed to be the great melting pot of the world. People come here from foreign lands and become "American." According to you this apparently means that we are supposed to leave our foreign heritage at the door on our way in. It doesn't work that way, Francesca.
You made the point that America has a short history. What you failed to realize is that for many here, most of what history there is doesn't concern us. Our families were not here when Revere made his midnight ride, or when Washington crossed the Delaware. My family, like many others, has been here less than one hundred years. I have no real roots in American culture. I along with those of similar backgrounds, am a cultural orphan. This does not mean that I don't take pride in America, that I am not moved by the music of Coppel, or that I do not enjoy reading Twain. It means that what really stirs my heart is a Chieftains reel, a pub song in the Rovers or the Dubliners, reading Yeats or AE (George Russell), learning the tales of Cuchullan or the Knights of the Red Branch; all things that come from a land that I have never
seen and yet still call home.
My parents and I were born in America, but my grandparents were not. They and their parents and grandparents for a thousand years called Ireland home. When my grandparents came here they didn't forget their past. They lived in an Irish community, kept Irish traditions and dreamed of one day going home. They passed this dream on to my parents, who passed it on to me. I may have been born in America, but for as long as I can remember I have called Ireland home.
However, we are right about one thing. We here in America do romanticize the old countries. That's what orphans do. Go into any orphanage and you will find plenty of children who dream that they have rich, loving parents who live in a big, beautiful house, and someday their parents will come to take them home. The same holds true for those of us who are cultural orphans, be weir, German, Russian, Italian, African, or Chinese. There's a big, beautiful country in our dreams of the past, and someday we'll go home and everything will be good. So Francesca, don't try to tell us who we are or who we aren't. You'll never make us believe that who we are is determined by a technicality like our place of birth. You cannot deny our personal history that easily. Who we are is much more than a function of strict national boundaries. In our hearts we know who we are and we know where we're from.
Bill Flaherty
Lawrence graduate student
KANSAN STAFF
GREG FARMER
Editor
GAYLE OSTERBERG
Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
BILL SKEET. Technology coordi
BILL SKEET, Technology coordinator
Business manager
MELISSATERLIP
Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES
Sales and marketing advise
Editors
Asst Managing ... Justin Knopp
News ... Morgan Gulainat
        David Mitchell
Editorial ... Stephen Martino
Campus ... KC Trainer
Sports ... David Mitchell
Photo ... Mark Rendleau
Features ... Lynne McAuco
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Campus sales mgr ... Campus sales mgr ... Brad Braun
Regional sales mgr ... Wade Baxter
National sales mgr ... Jennifer Perrier
Co-op sales mgr ... Amy Hesselman
Production mgr ... Amy Stumbo
Ashley Langford
Marketing director ... Angela Clewenger
Creative director ... Holly Perry
Art Director ... Jim Tennant
Dave Habagar
Business Staff
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PEACE IN THE GALKANS:
certain body parts are obscene and should not be seen by others. This idea has been drilled into their heads since birth and is accepted as fact. The belief has caused us all to spend uncountable amounts of money on clothing and have nightmares about going to school naked. Is such a belief beneficial? I don't think so.
Although the vaccination has never been scientifically tested, the prospective benefits warrant its use. Let's dispose of this restrictive ordinance and rid ourselves of the fear of these nefarious institutions. This, I believe we owe to our country: the land of the free (and home of the brave).
When you consider how much attention is given to the appearance of the human body, it seems hypocritical to define 'obscene' as a stroll through the park in the buff. The beliefs on which the ordinance is based should not be a limiting factor in our freedom. The ordinance must go.
Kansas beware: a plague is currently sweeping across the northeastern portion of the state. Local communities should brace themselves, for they may be exposed to the epidemic at any time.
Don't ban nude juice bars, make public nudity legal
What is this affliction that has sent area officials scrambling to halt its influx? Nudity. Not your ordinary, everyday nudity, but nudity in its most impious form: strip joint and juice bar nudity. Recently, several local communities have been threatened with the opening of these establishments within their city limits.
STAFF COLUMNIST
When I pulled out my suitcase to pack for my trip to the inauguration in Washington, D.C., I was overcome with memories as I removed the old luggage routing tags. The tags read "Ireland," a place where I spent two weeks this past break.
Lawrence fell victim to this dreaded disease in the fall of 1992. Now, council members have found themselves reviewing an ordinance which would shield our community from this outbreak. Although I don't condemn city officials for not wanting these businesses in Lawrence, I feel that passing an ordinance to ban these establishments is unnecessary.
But why not? What's the purpose of this ordinance? Is there a reason for people to be clothed when in public? Certainly, when you consider warmth on a cold day or a job such as arcel welding, you see some need for clothing. However, most of a person's time is spent neither in cold weather nor arc welding. So why insist that people be clothed? After all, what's viewed obscene to Dave isn't necessarily obscene to me.
Now I know that our system is based on popular opinion, which I'm obviously against in this case. However, the system should not be based on empty beliefs. It seems that the majority has never questioned the idea that
Consider an alternative — one that would eliminate the need for the ordinance entirely. What is this alternative? A simple vaccination. How does it work? Like any other vaccination; merely inject the system with an
By many, Ireland is considered the Third World of Europe. And, as the inauguration reminded me, the United States is considered the most powerful country in the world by many. And so I was struck by the contrasts between that tiny island and this big nation.
attenuated version of the virus.
Marvin McNett is a Hutchinson senior majoring in aerospace engineering.
Please understand, I'm not insinuating that the city open some sort of twisted adult entertainment establishment to ward off the disease. The solution is much easier; legalize munity altogether. That's right, allow people to go the armature route if they so desire. With nudity being a part of everyday life, these businesses would lose their appeal to those seeking a cheap thrill.
Of course, such a rash proposal needs further justification. After all, the vaccination has never been tested. But if there's one thing I've learned as an airspace engineering student, it's that all solutions should have synergism. So let's explore another implication of the proposal.
As presented, such a proposal would not only alleviate the threat of these establishments locating in our area, but it would also endow the community with more freedom by eradicating an already existing and unnecessary ordinance; this being the one which prohibits "indecent public exposure." Dave Corliss, assistant city manager, clarified the meaning of the ordinance by saying, "Obviously, you can't walk on the park with no clothes on." Well, obviously.
Ireland offers lessons for America
STAFF COLUMNIST
Washington, like most larger cities here, is easy to access. I looked forward to a direct dinner flight to D.C. while I recalled that Ireland is out of the way, difficult to get to. In fact, the
Romans did not bother to conquer Ireland, considering it not worth the trouble.
They are also generous. President Mary Robinson shamed the rest of the world by imitating the Western Humanitarian Outreach to Somalia. And in that generosity an unmistakable pride exudes.
Even this poor nation has much to offer.
In many ways Ireland has never "caught up" with the rest of the modern world. But that is the point — Ireland is a taste of yesteryear. It is proof that "progress" does not come without its price. This out-of-the-way
world is worth the trip.
So Ireland was never Romanized, but it was Christianized. Ireland is a Catholic country. The Irish have suffered and fought for their religious freedom, so they cherish the treasures of their hard-won faith. Perhaps that is why Ireland is a country where leisure is sought and won.
The Irish work very hard, but there is not the Protestant work ethic that taxes and drains us Americans. As Max Weber observed, Americans have too often transferred their love for God to the adoration of the dollar. The Irish still adore God.
Maybe it is its faith that affords them the courage to face the harsher realities of their existence. Even their theater does not tempt with
escapism, but to sold-out crowds,
offers scenes close to daily life. The
play I saw explored the real struggle
between the desire to search for
employment abroad or stay close to
the land of one's birth. An unemployment
figure alarmingly close to thirty
percent is a reality. But somehow
they are happy people.
Ann Jurcyk is a Kansas City, Kan., graduate student majoring in liberal arts.
Mystery Strip
by David Rosenfield